Supplemental essays · 2026–27 application
Brown University supplemental essays.
All 6 essay questions Brown University asks this year, word for word, with the word limits and how to approach each one.
Checked against admission.brown.edu on October 17, 2026
What you write: Answer all three. PLME applicants also answer the three PLME essays.
Your approach to the Open Curriculum
Brown’s president, in her 2025 Convocation Address, described what is distinctive about Brown students: intellectual curiosity, creativity, humility, a commitment to collaboration, openness to new ideas and perspectives, a desire to make the world better, and resilience. How will you use these characteristics or others to shape your approach to the Open Curriculum?
The prompt opens with the full quote from the address; see Brown’s page for its exact words.
How to approach it
- Name things you could only find at this college: a class, a professor, a program, a tradition.
- Tie every detail to something true about you.
- Swap test: if another college’s name fits your sentence, it’s too general.
Where you came from
Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community.
How to approach it
- Say plainly what the community is.
- Show your place in it with one real scene.
- End with what you’d bring to campus.
A class you'd teach
If you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be?
How to approach it
- Take the question seriously enough to play with it.
- Let your answer show how you think.
- Keep it honest under the fun.
PLME: Why medicine?
Why medicine?
Program in Liberal Medical Education applicants only.
How to approach it
- Start with the moment the interest began.
- Show what you’ve already done about it: a class, a project, a book, a job.
- Say where you want to take it, even if you’re not sure yet.
PLME: Why PLME?
Why PLME?
Program in Liberal Medical Education applicants only.
How to approach it
- Name things you could only find at this college: a class, a professor, a program, a tradition.
- Tie every detail to something true about you.
- Swap test: if another college’s name fits your sentence, it’s too general.
PLME: Beyond medicine
Tell us something about yourself, beyond your interest in medicine, that you think will make you a great doctor.
Program in Liberal Medical Education applicants only.
How to approach it
- Pick one moment and stay there. Readers remember a scene, not a summary.
- Spend at least a third of the essay on what you thought and how you changed.
- Read it out loud. If a line doesn’t sound like you, it isn’t done yet.
Want a mentor on your essays?
Clarity Prep members get a mentor who reads every draft with them, knows their whole application and checks in every week until it’s done.